Wednesday, May 9, 2012

The Travel Channel came to little Santaquin (my home town) to get the run down on Santaquin's most famous establishment, The Family Tree. Here is the link to some clips and pictures.

My home town Santaquin (Utah) has quite a history. I just learned a few new pieces of the rich history tonight at The Family Tree. I went there and got a whole tour and all of the details. Our waitress was very accommodating. It did help that I went with another Santaquin native and she knew the waitress :)

So here's the 411: The land that The Family Tree sits on is cursed Indian land. Bad juju already. On top of that, the building used to be a bar with illegal activities going on in the basement such as gambling and who knows what else. Bad juju again. Apparently the main haunter is a man called Henry who loved the bar and wants it to be a bar again.

Several of the workers have had weird experiences there. One waitress recently quit because a vacuum turned on on it's own without being plugged in. My waitress has heard several voices and some of them say her name. She's also seen a girl and an old man. Chairs have been tipped over randomly and her hair has been pulled.

Because I had a connection, I got to take a tour of the restaurant. It was creepy to say the least. When our waitress opened the latch to the basement, I had an overwhelming feeling in the pit of my stomach. During the tour, we all got cold chills at exactly the same time. I never saw any ghosts, but I felt things for sure.

I am more interested in the Native American curse than the bar and Henry. But it seems that this Henry fellow is all the talk. Come to Santaquin to eat a scone at the one and only HAUNTED Family Tree. They are giving tours for $20. If you like a good scare, you'll like it.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

I saw this photo on pinterest yesterday. This is the caption They all weigh 150lbs. It's not just about weight, do you know your BMI? I was pretty amazed because I don't equate health with a number. A number doesn't tell me how my organs are functioning, if my joints are flexible, what's my blood pressure, how strong is my immune system etc. But that's for another controversy. What attracted me to this photo was the number of comments. So I started reading them. The first or second comment was from a girl, Jayne. She said something like "150 is huge. I would kill myself if I weighed that much. Just go vegan and you won't be fat." Again this is roughly quoting her. People started knocking her down and tearing apart her comments. And... she would comment again. NEVER backing down. She was a fighter. So I check it today and there is no Jayne. What happened to Jayne the relentless fighter? Then I kept reading the comments. And I would have deleted myself too.

It comes down to a few things for me: How can I speak my truth without tearing people down? I don't have to feel threatened by someone else's opinions. I don't even have to defend my own opinion. That is EGO. The differences in people are exciting. Celebrate diversity. Also, (and more importantly) remember that we are one. I cannot see another without seeing myself reflected back. Instead of finding things to separate myself from others, focus on the things that unite us. Deepak Chopra says, "today I will bond with others knowing the Other is myself in disguise."